An automation system of this type is used in particular in the area of automation technology. An automation system of this type generally comprises a multiplicity of individual automation objects, which are frequently highly dependent on the engineering system respectively used.
At present there are two basic methods in use. In the first method, the retrieval of the engineering data from the installation is ruled out. Changes to the installation are possible only via the engineering tool. Consequently, the data in the engineering system always reflect the current state and there is no need for information to be reproduced from the installation. This solution has the following disadvantages:                Strong link between runtime and engineering: The engineering system must be supplied along with the installation and also be additionally paid for by the customer.        Changes in the installation cannot be reproduced: If there are changes in the installation, for example as a result of a device being exchanged, these changes cannot be automatically reproduced in the engineering system.        High organizational expenditure: To keep the engineering data up to date, organizational precautions have to be taken to ensure the way in which changes in the installation are introduced into the engineering system.        
The second approach is based on a disassembly of the runtime code. In this case, the executable code of the runtime objects is analyzed and translated into the engineering counterparts. This solution has the following disadvantages:                Elaborate method: The analysis of the runtime code is complex and susceptible to errors.        Implementation-dependent: The implementation of the translation back is strongly dependent on how the translation process is carried out. Changes to the translation process and in particular the code created necessitate adaptation of the implementation of the translating-back process.        ES information can no longer be produced with certainty: Since the runtime code is at a semantically lower level than the actual engineering information, it cannot be ensured that the engineering information can be exactly reconstructed.        
In the specialist article Elmqvist, H.: “A Uniform Architecture for Distributed Automation”, Advances in Instrumentation and Control, vol. 46, part 2, 1991, pages 1599-1608, XP000347589 Research Triangle Park, N.C., US, a description is given of an automation system whose objects are programmed in an object- and data-flow-oriented programming language. It uses a graphic programming environment and offers means for the creation of dynamically updated process images. The programming language allows an automatic communication between distributed objects.